The present invention relates to a color-changing lamp for use in a vehicle in which a light color is changeable, and more particularly to an improvement in which different colors of light is obtained in such a manner that a color globe is mated to or removed from a bulb.
Conventionally, as such a type of lamp, a headlight component has been proposed which is used as a headlamp with a light color of white or a foglamp with the light color of pale yellow changed. For example, in the lamp described in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application No. Hei. 3-37704, which has been previously proposed by the applicant of this application, with a reflector and a white bulb arranged within a lamp housing composed of a lamp body and a lens, the bulb emits white light during current supply. Further, with a pale yellow glove arranged within the lamp housing, a driving mechanism moves the glove between a position where the glove covers the bulb and another position where the glove is moved from the position. In the lamp having such a configuration, when the driving mechanism shifts the glove to the former position (hereinafter referred to as "covering position") where the glove covers the bulb, the light emitting from the bulb is colored in pale yellow when it passes through the glove so that it serves as a foglamp emitting pale yellow light. Further, when the driving mechanism shifts the glove forward from the covering position to the position (hereinafter referred to as "exposure position") where the bulb is not covered by the glove, the white light from the bulb emits, as it is, from the lamp so that the bulb serves as a headlamp emitting white light.
In the conventional color-changing lamp, the glove moves between the covering position and exposure position to change the light color. In this case, since the glove moves continuously between these positions by the driving mechanism, while the glove moves, the glove partially covers the bulb during a certain time period. Thus, in this state, the white light from the bulb and the pale yellow colored by the glove emit from the lamp, respectively so that the pale yellow light approximate to white, which results from mixture of these colors, will emit. Such a mixed color provides light with a hue other than the "white" and "pale yellow" stipulated in safety regulation. This is a problem when the conventional lamp is actually applied to a vehicle.
Further, where a vehicle has a plurality of color-changing lamps, there is a problem that a color difference occurs owing to fluctuation in operation timings for color changing by respective lamps.